West African Rhythm Ensemble

Carleton Music Program

Performers are members of the Carleton West African Rhythm Ensemble (WARE), one of several ensembles open to students in the Bachelor of Music Program, as well as other students across campus. The ensemble provides participants an opportunity to develop a wide range of performance skills, as well as an understanding of aspects of African culture through the study and performance of West African singing, dancing and drumming. Repertoire includes both traditional and popular styles of music, such as Azonto, Highlife and Makossa. There are opportunities for many different skill levels to interact at once, providing an inclusive environment in which to explore connections to music and rhythm in a social setting. The ensemble regularly collaborates with guest artists for their performances.

WARE’s founding director is Kathy Armstrong, a Faculty Instructor in Carleton’s School for Studies in Art and Culture- Music program. Kathy is a percussionist and educator who combines her training in classical music and education with her many years of studies in Ghanaian music and dance to offer an integrated and community-based approach in her teaching. In addition to her work at Carleton, Kathy regularly travels and hosts programs in Ghana where she has a three-decade association with her teacher Kwasi Dunyo and his village of Dagbamete, in the Volta Region of Ghana. In 2023 she took Carleton students to study Urban and Rural Music Making in Ghana, through Carleton’s Institute for African Studies.